Freestanding fireplace and room heater

ABSTRACT

A freestanding fireplace and room heater is described that is both pleasing in appearance and is an efficient room heater. The heater includes an upright firebox selectively sealed by a door on a front wall thereof. The door may be opened and swung to a position adjacent one side of the firebox for free access to the firebox interior. The door includes a removable glass window for a clear view of a fire within the firebox. The window may be selectively removed and replaced with a metal panel. A relatively inconspicuous blower unit is mounted at the rearward side of the firebox to receive and direct air across the back side, then out across the top, bottom, and sides of the firebox. Also included is a draft arrangement adjacent to the glass pane. The draft arrangement operates to draw cool air in and downwardly across the inside surface of the glass pane. The draft arrangement provides air to support combustion within the firebox and prevents build-up of soot and dust on the glass pane. A moveable draft control is provided on the metal panel that, when in place, may be used to vary the airflow through the draft arrangement. The firebox is designed to retain hot gasses in a turbulent atmosphere for a time prior to discharge through a smoke outlet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to combined freestanding fireplaces androom heaters that utilize a forced air arrangement for efficientlydistributing the heat produced by the unit throughout the surroundingatmosphere.

Fireplaces have long been a source of enjoyment but are very inefficientmeans of heating an associated room. This characteristic is true both ofthe permanent built-in fireplace units and the modern freestandingfireplaces. Fixed or stationary fireplaces are probably the mostinefficient room heaters since heat from the fire generally can only beprojected toward the forward opening thereof. With freestandingfireplaces, the heat may radiate from all sides of the fireplace body.There is still inefficiency because the units generally do not haveprovision for directing the heated air away from the fireplace body.Instead, it rises to the ceiling and heats only the area directly abovethe unit itself. Of course the heat will spread gradually throughout theroom but by the time the far corners of the room are heated, the areaimmediately adjacent to the fireplace is usually too hot.

Another problem associated with freestanding fireplaces, especiallythose having glass door closures, is that the glass doors often becomecoated with soot and ashes from the fire and must be frequently cleaned.This is a tedious and obviously messy job.

There are forms of fireplace units that are more or less effective inforcing heated air from the fireplace outwardly into the associatedroom. However, these units are usually bulky and very uncomely.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,171,399 to W. B. Kirgan granted Mar. 2, 1965 discloses afurnace type space heater wherein the area surrounding the firebox isutilized as a plenum chamber. It heats air as it moves downwardly froman intake adjacent the upper surface of the heater to a discharge at abottom side of the heater. The heater makes use of a blower unit to drawthe air through the plenum chamber.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,178,854 to H. C. Keeler granted Apr. 11, 1916 disclosesa portable fireplace. This fireplace unit is comprised of a sheet metalformed firebox with a plurality of doors on a front surface of thefirebox that are hinged to allow folding of the doors completely awayfrom the front of the fireplace leaving an open fire chamber. The unitincludes an inclined deflector above the fire area that deflects smokeforward and subsequently upward and back horizontally to a chimney pipe.This somewhat resembles the smoke trap of ordinary permanent typefireplaces. There is no provision for forcing air over the heatedoutside surfaces of the unit. The bottom and back sides of the fireplaceunit are insulated.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,944,626 to E. A. Allbert granted Jan. 23, 1934 disclosesa combined heater and fireplace. This is a freestanding unit thatincludes a double door arrangement. A first, outer door, is formed ofsheet metal and is retractable to a stored position above the firebox.When the outer door is in this position an inner, glass door is exposedto allow relatively full view of the fire within. There is no provisionfor circulating the air outside the firebox, nor is there any specialprovision for keeping the glass viewing pane clean and protected fromsoot and ashes from the fire within.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,823 to W. J. Snyder et al granted Oct. 8, 1957discloses a space heater. Again, this unit is intended primarily as afurnace (like the Kirgan heater). A fan unit is attached at the rear ofthe heater to direct air inwardly and upward over an enclosed firebox.Since the firebox is completely enclosed within a sheet metal housingexcept for a louvered area at the top, the heated air is allowed to moveonly in an upward and outward direction. This unit is provided in theform of a stove or furnace arrangement wherein the fire chamber iscompletely enclosed and is not visible from the outside when the fireboxdoor is in a closed position.

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a freestandingfireplace and room heater combination that is both pleasing inappearance and is a highly functional heating unit.

A further object is to provide such a combined heating and freestandingfireplace unit that includes a removable glass pane in the doorstructure with draft means associated therewith for continuouslycleaning or preventing build-up of material on the inside surface of theglass when the unit is in operation.

Another object is to provide such a fireplace and heating unit thatincludes a door structure that may be moved completely out of the way ofthe forward opening in order to provide free access to the fireboxinterior.

Another object is to provide such a fireplace and heating unit whereinthe glass pane is interchangeable with a metal panel so the unit can beconverted from a decorative fireplace to a fully functional stove.

A still further object is to provide a fireplace and heating unitwherein air may be forced across the outside radiating surfaces of thefireplace unit in order to quickly heat an associated room.

These and still further objects and advantages will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description which, taken with theaccompanying drawings, disclose a preferred form of my invention.However, it is to be noted that the drawings and following descriptionmerely set forth an example of a preferred form of my invention and byno means are intended to restrict the scope of my invention to theparticular details shown herein. Only the claims to be found at the endof this specification set forth the scope of what I claim to be myinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the present fireplace and room heater;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 3--3 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of elements of the door assembly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged pictorial view of a door for myfireplace unit having a removable glass pane; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary pictorial view of the door shown in FIG. 6 onlywith a metal panel in place of the glass pane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred form of the present fireplace and room heater structure isillustrated in the accompanying drawings and designated therein by thereference character 10. The heater 10 is basically comprised of a sheetmetal formed firebox 11 that has a relatively flat front 12 with arectangular front opening 13 (FIG. 3) to the firebox interior. Firebox11 also includes upright sides 14 and a substantially upright back 15.The sides 14 diverge outward (inclined) from the back 15 to the front12. A horizontal top 16 and spaced bottom 17 complete the fireboxenclosure. A hearth 18 extends forward and outward of the firebox bottom17. The entire structure is supported on legs 19. A top opening isdefined by chimney mounting flange 20, located near the back 15 on top16.

The firebox opening 13 may be selectively covered by a pivoted door 23.The door includes a substantially rectangular door frame 24 that isconstructed substantially of the same material as the firebox. The frame24 surrounds a rectangular glass window 25. In the embodiment shown byFIGS. 6 and 7 the window 25 is removable and may be replaced with ametal panel 25a. The frame is wide in cross section to space the windowforward of the front wall 12. Preferably, the window is formed oftempered, heat resistant glass of the type that is typically found inglass fireplace screens.

The door 23 is mounted to the firebox 11 through a door hinge means 26.Means 26 includes a vertical hinge pin 27 that is mounted throughappropriate brackets 28 to the firebox 11. The hinge axis is locatedadjacent to one side edge of the firebox such that the door may bepivoted completely clear of the opening 13. The door 23 may be pivotedmore than 270° about the hinge axis. This facilitates free access to thefirebox interior and hides the door flush along side 14.

A draft means 30 is integral with door 23. Draft means 30 functions toallow air into the firebox area in order to support combustion ofmaterial therein and for the additional purpose of preventing soot orash build-up on an interior surface 32 of the glass pane 25. The draftmeans 30 is simply comprised of a louver or set of louvers 31 formedwithin a top surface 29 of the door frame 24. In the form shown in FIGS.1-6, the louvers are open continuously and function to continuouslyclean the window pane 25. However, as shown in FIG. 7, a moveable draftcontrol 30a is pivotably mounted to the metal panel 25a to enableselective adjustment of the air intake through louvers 31. This providesmore complete control of the combustion process when the unit is to beused as a highly functional stove.

The louvers 31 define an elongated air gap of between 3/8 in. and 1/4in. inclusive. The louvers, shown in detail by FIG. 4, are inclinedrearwardly and are elevationally offset, with the top edge of therearward louver higher than the forward louver. The purpose for theelevational offset is to prevent hot air (adjacent the front wall 12)from entering between the louvers but to allow free passage of coolerair from the area forward of the louvers. The hot air from wall 12 isdeflected back as indicated in the arrow A in FIG. 4 while the coolerair enters as shown by arrow B.

The louvers 31 are inclined to direct incoming air along the innersurface 32 of the glass pane 23. This downwardly moving air is passedover the glass pane prior to entering the fire chamber. The air willmove at a sufficient velocity (when a fire is burning within thefirebox) to keep the glass continuously clean, and will preventexcessive heat build-up within the glass to prevent cracking.

Upright guideways 32a (FIGS. 6 and 7) may be provided to enable exchangeof the glass with the metal panel 25a. The exchange may thus be made bysliding the glass upwardly from the guideways 32a and replacing the samewith panel 25a, received within ways 32a. When the panel is in position,the moveable draft control 30a is in position next to draft means 30 andmay be pivoted to cover the air space between louvers 31 (as shown inFIG. 7, solid lines). Alternatively it may be pivoted clear of theair-space (FIG. 7, dashed lines) thus controlling the air flow.

The door may be tightly secured in a closed position against the firebox11 by a latch means as shown at 33. Latch means 33 includes a lever 34that is pivoted to the door 23. Lever 34 is selectively received withina catch 35. Catch 35 is affixed to the front 12 of firebox 11. The catch35 may have a cam surface which will operate against the lever to pressthe door tightly against the firebox front in the closed condition.

Heated and burning gases will collect within the firebox in the areaforward of the chimney pipe flange and above the door. The tumbling hotgases will remain within the firebox and dissipate some of the heatbefore exiting through the chimney (not shown). This is an advantageover conventional fireplaces and stoves where the hot gases are funneledupwardly into the chimney, and where the heat therefrom is dissipatedthroughout the chimney and is exhausted into the outside air.

To prevent the heated gases from being directed against the window 25, Iprovide a deflector baffle 37. Baffle 37 may either be mounted directlyto the firebox front 12 at the top edge of opening 13, or, as shown, maybe mounted to the top inside edge of the door frame 24. In either case,the hot gas deflecting baffle 37 extends down and forwardly from the topedge of the opening toward the window 25 when the door is in the closedposition. Thus, when a fire is burning within the firebox, gases withinthe upper portions of the firebox are deflected smoothly along the sameplane as the passage taken by the incoming air (delivered through thelouvers 31).

An important feature of the present invention is provision of a baffleplate 40 and blower means 47 by which the heat produced by the presentunit 10 is directed forwardly of the unit to quickly and efficientlyheat the surrounding area. The baffle plate 40 is comprised of arelatively flat piece of sheet metal that is pivotably mounted by pins40a to the firebox 11 in rearward spaced relation to the back 15. Thus,an open air space 41 is created between the back 15 and baffle plate 40.The pins 40a enable plate 40 to be pivoted away from the back 15 toallow cleaning of the unit and to enable the unit to function withoutthe forced air effect of the plate 40 and blower means 47.

The opposite upright side edges of the baffle plate 40 include forwardlyinclined fins 42. These fins 42 are spaced laterally outward of thesides 14 and are substantially parallel thereto. Fins 42 function todeflect air moving through the air space 41 forwardly along thediverging sides 14 of the firebox 11.

A hinged deflector flap 43 is provided at a top edge of the baffle plate40. It may be selectively moved between an inoperative position whereinair moving in the air space 41 will be guided in an upward direction, orwhen the deflector flap is in an operative position (FIG. 5), the airwill be directed in a horizontal plane over the top surface 16 of thefirebox. The flap 43 may be utilized as a control to regulate the amountof air flowing over the heated surfaces of the firebox and thereforeeffectively vary the amount of forwardly radiating heat.

The baffle plate 40 also includes a horizontal bottom deflector 46 (FIG.3) that projects downward and forward below the firebox bottom 17.Deflector 46 is forwardly inclined to direct air from the air space 41forwardly along the bottom of the firebox. Thus, it is understood thatair may pass or be forced to pass by blower means 47 over substantiallyall the heated surfaces of firebox 11 with the exception of front 12.

The blower means 47 may be a blade type fan and motor combination asshown in the drawings or a squirrel cage type fan may also beeffectively used. The blower means 47 is mounted to baffle plate 40within an appropriate aperture 50 formed therethrough. This aperture islocated centrally on the plate 40 such that air is received by the fanand directed against the back of the heater unit 10. The back 15 ispreferably somewhat "wedge" shaped with forward diverging sides leadingto a central edge 51. The forced air will be evenly divided at the edge51 of the wedge configuration and diverted in opposite horizontaldirections to fins 42 as well as up and downwardly toward theappropriate deflector flap 43, or bottom deflector 46.

The blower means 47 may be operated in response to a thermostaticcontrol or, more simply, may be operated from an appropriate manualswitch to function at the will of the operator.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made inview of the drawings and description of my invention as made above.However, the above description and attached drawings are not intended inany way to place restrictions upon the scope of my invention. Only thefollowing claims are to be taken as definitions and limitations upon thescope of what I define as my invention.

What I claim is:
 1. A freestanding fireplace and room heater,comprising:a firebox having a front opening and a top opening; said topopening being adapted to receive a chimney pipe; said firebox having aflat top surface and upright sidewalls joined by upright front and backwalls; a door; hinge means mounting the door to the front wall of thefirebox for pivotal movement about a vertical axis between a closedposition completely covering the front opening and an open positionadjacent one sidewall of the firebox; latch means for tightly securingthe door to the firebox in the closed position; a baffle plate mountedin spaced relation to the back wall of the firebox to create an open airspace across the back of the firebox; fins on outside edges of thebaffle plate that extend fowardly to deflect air forwardly over thefirebox; blower means on the baffle for forcing air through the airspace to be heated by the firebox and exhausted in a forward directionover the firebox; wherein the door includes a door frame supporting apane of glass and wherein the door frame is situated between the glasspane and front firebox wall such that in the closed position, the paneis spaced forwardly of the front firebox wall; and wherein the doorincludes a draft means along an upper horizontal surface thereof forreceiving outside air and directing it along an inside surface of theglass pane.
 2. The heater as set out by claim 1 wherein the draft meansis comprised of louvers formed within the door frame.
 3. The heater asset out by claim 1 wherein the firebox includes a forward and downwardprojecting gas deflecting baffle located at an upper horizontal edge ofthe front opening when the door is at the closed position.
 4. The heateras set out by claim 1 wherein the hinge means is located adjacent oneside wall to facilitate swinging movement of the door to an openposition substantially flush with the adjacent side wall.
 5. The heateras set out by claim 1 further comprising a hinged deflector flap at atop edge of the baffle plate that is movable to an operative position todeflect air across the firebox top surface and to an inoperativeposition; wherein the air is allowed to exit in an upward direction. 6.The heater as set out by claim 1 wherein the firebox stands on legs andthe baffle plate includes a bottom deflector extending forwardly belowthe firebox and adjacent the bottom of the back wall to direct airforwardly across the firebox bottom.
 7. The heater as set out by claim 1further comprising a hearth projecting forwardly of the firebox and doorwhen the door is in the closed position.
 8. The heater as defined inclaim 1 wherein the hinge means enables the door to be pivoted more than270° from the closed position and the open position.
 9. The heater asdefined in claim 1 wherein the door frame includes upwardly open uprightguideways removably receiving the glass pane such that the glass panemay be selectively removed from the door; and further comprises a metalpanel that may be inserted between the guideways in place of the glasspane.
 10. The heater as defined in claim 1 further comprising a draftcontrol for selectively adjusting the amount of airflow through thedraft means.